Chevrolet Avalanche Engine Problems

Comments

I realize this is an older post but thought I would let you in on a current experience that I am having with my 09 Avalanche...I love the truck but have had the oil pump changed at 75K miles via the dealer warranty and had the same chirping sound...turned out to be the cam shaft and lifters...again replacedat 98K miles by the dealer warranty. I have owned the truck since 8-5-09 when I purchased the truck with 5 miles on it...I have driven over 93,000 miles in the 2.5 years that I have owned the truck..lots of highway miles...I have used Royal Purple 5W-30 oil as recommended every 7K miles... I just pray nothing else goes wrong....its still not paid for but the service warranty is about to expire...

I have always driven a GM product...I own 5 other Chevy trucks with 5.7 litre motors but have never had these types of engine problems. I love the gas mileage...my AV is a 4x4 and has never left the highway...and I get 21.5 on the highway and 18-19 in the town driving...If the engine proves reliable I would like to own another Av as my dealer states that GM will discontinue it in 2013.

I am an auto mechanic with 32 yrs exp. I got my 07 avalanche with 30 thsnd miles on it, and have changed oil every 3 th with synt. oil. I service ALL my vehicles with top notch parts, no 2nd brand crap... The engine threw codes for #6 injector, i replaced, no difference, Took off head and #6 rocker arm didnt move. Took to GM and even tho they SEE the engine is clean, wont repair. 1 month outta warranty, just turned 60 000 miles, THEY know there is a problem, becasue there was also another 07 in for the exact same thing the same time as mine. I am going to fight GM for them to fix this. THIS is the reason i will NEVER buy GM again My Nissan pathfinder 225 thousands miles on it and you cant even hear it run.... has anyone gotten it fixed on GMs tab?? this is ridiculous. You pay 50 tho for a truck it shouls last more then 60 thous miles. And my truck doesnt pull anything, Godforbid i have to haul my horses somewhere, then what..... any help from anyone whose had this same issue. i am sure i am not the only one.

I bought a new 2010 Avalanche that came with a 6.2 "cadillac engine"..I only have about 7000 klms on it..It sat for a few days and when I started it up a lot of blue smoke came out,,oil would be my guess,,has any one else had this problem??

I have a 06 avalanche with the 5.3L It started that chirping a couple of weeks ago. Has 94K miles and I alway's changed the oil regularly. 5k miles. I'm going to look around and see what may be a better oil to use. I have been using castrol 5w 30. I'm going to buy a used engine from a friends salvage company and maybe rebuild my old engine myself. I'm going to have the heads done to boost horsepower and do a camshaft upgrade maybe from summitt. I can easily add 100hp by doing that. Seems a hydraulic roller lifter has messed up knocking a lobe off the cam. I had a lot of fine metal in my oil pan. So I know how you feel. It sucks.

My Chevrolet Avalanche did same thing on 10/2/12. I was driving down the road and the motor started knocking like a jack hammer was inside of it. All the lights came on which were engine light,traction control, stability control and something else which i cant remember. The truck lost all power and i thought it blew up. My Avalanche is a 2007 LTZ fully loaded with a 6.0 motor. Called Gm and they were very helpful. Took to local chevrolet dealership and diagnosed with # 4 cylinder misfired and lifters were broke or locked up and cam was damaged. They are replacing all lifters and new cam in it. Had to show records oil changes but GM gave me no questions after that. Pick it monday. Goodluck and hope they paid for yours also.

02 avalanche very hard to start on the first start. acts as if no fuel...starts rough and after pressing hard in the gas, will finally lever out and run smooth. I'm guessing a bad cold start sensor, but what do I know. any ideas?

I would like to get as many people with the same problemand try to get a recall on this issue. and for those who had paid get their money back. my Avalanche has only 57,700 miles. I bought it new. the dealer will pay half wich is close to 1,100. the noise is getting worse.

I have 07 LTZ Avalanche. for awhile I complain in a local dealer that my lifters doing allot of noise especially when I start the car in the morning. on top of it the engine loosing oil and not leaking. I had to ad 1.5 quarts after 2k miles of oil change. every single time the dealer would of come and say that they didn't find any problem with the car. I've change a dealer and got the same answers.....I've decided to record on the phone when I start the car in the morning and went to a third dealer near my work and eventually at last yesterday the guy called and said that they suspect the camshaft is no good and they need to get an approval from the warranty on Monday. my avalanche has 93k. since 5 years has expired I've extended the warranty with Zurich Auto Warranty. it's really irritating me that the chevy dealers out there not really has the qualify man power to find such a problem before it's developing to the worse.

I have 07 LTZ Avalanche. for awhile I complain in a local dealer that my lifters doing allot of noise especially when I start the car in the morning. on top of it the engine loosing oil and not leaking. I had to ad 1.5 quarts after 2k miles of oil change. every single time the dealer would of come and say that they didn't find any problem with the car. I've change a dealer and got the same answers.....I've decided to record on the phone when I start the car in the morning and went to a third dealer near my work and eventually at last yesterday the guy called and said that they suspect the camshaft is no good and they need to get an approval from the warranty on Monday. my avalanche has 93k. since 5 years has expired I've extended the warranty with Zurich Auto Warranty. it's really irritating me that the chevy dealers out there not really has the qualify man power to find such a problem before it's developing to the worse.

I purchased an 2008 LTZ new, after about 60,000 miles i started to have engine noise, low oil pressure indicator was lighting up, took into my Chevy dealer, told me lifter had colapsed, after further inspection , cam shaft was worn, lifters worn, and a host of other problems, they basically rebuilt the motor ( under warranty ) after repairing it was still ticking, unknown to me at the time they added oil thickener to quiet it down. Now my warranty has exspired 1 year later, oil pressure light came on again, now they tell me my motor is done ! After talking to many people including service guys, they are having problems with sludging in the oil pan, and r now saying the oil change monitor on all these vehicles is not working and the oil should be changed every 3500 miles.

wheel61, Let us know if there's anything we can check into for you. We can be reached via email at socialmedia@gm.com (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation so far).

First post here...glad to see I am not the only one who has problems with the Av engine... I got mine in today for an engine noise.... 2009 Z71 with 41200 km.... Dealer just called me... he needs to open it up to see what's going on... Asks me to get all my invoices for oil changes as GM will ask him cause it's under warranty. Who keeps oil changes invoices ???? My OnStar is activated and tracks when the oil changes were done...

I am hoping they will cover it even I do not have all the oil changes invoices.... and on top of that, it's always been with Synthetic... I have ALWAYS bought GM my 5th car/truck... not sure anymore...

Keep us posted, gtrottier109. I am guessing that you're outside of the United States as you're using kilometers as your unit of measure. If you need information for how to contact Customer Service in your region, let me know your country and I will get that to you. Sarah, GM Customer Service

I can tell you this, depending on your onstar does not save you, they want to see that you are using a GM approved oil filter, as well as oil. and that the oil changes were done at the correct times. I have also learned from the service techs and other GM personel that they are having engine issues with their onboard oil change indicators, I am told that I should not wait till my indicator say 10% or less but to change my oil every 5000 - 6000 km. After my first engine problems started they opened up the engine, the Cam was worn, lifters collapsed and they said there was so much sludge in the oil pan. I said i had always serviced my vehicle at the GM dealer regularly. They said they knew that and it is a problem . They will fix your engine for now, but it will not fix the problem. Mine needed a new engine, after basically being rebuilt. 10,000 miles later they wouldnt repair it anymore. ( just after warranty ran out )

Your experience comes in handy in this case. While I understand your points, I am hoping that they will cover it even if I cannot produce all the receipts. After all, the truck was brand new when I bought it (56K sticker price) and has only 26K miles over 3.5 years... warranty is 5 years/100k miles on the powertrain. If I had been at the 70-80 K mark with it and could not reproduce all receipts, I would understand. but at 26K, I shouldn't have to when it is tracked. You are right that OnStar doesn't prove anything though but at 56K $, I am not someone who will cheap out on an oil change. I thought this truck would last me at least 10 years... guess I was wrong.

Great to hear from you! if you should ever wish to speak with customer service, GM of Canada can be reached at 800-263-3777 (Hours: M-F 7:30am - 11:30pm, Sat 7:30am - 6:00 EST). Unfortunately, my social media counterparts and I are only able to work with US customers at this point. Hopefully all turns out well in this situation! Sarah, GM Customer Service

This is what's happening now. My engine is in pieces at the dealership. I went at the garage and asked to see the engine on the table... Sure enough, cam shaft has a gouge in it, lifter is scratched. the service tech told me they will change the camshaft, and all lifters. He also mentioned they come in a kit, this is why they change them all. Might as well, engine is in pieces...

plugs seemed fine. No oil accumulation whatsoever on them

I was surprised, but they rented me a car. They had no loaner on the lot, so GM pays for the rental. Everything under warranty. Can't ask for more I guess. They rented me a Cruze... pretty good little car. I want my wife to try it but after the engine problem on my Av, she says no Chevy for her...

Should have it back tomorrow or Friday and will let you guys know how it feels after.

Engine running smoothly, seems more powerful a bit, but it might just the fact that I was in a Cruze all week.... :P

Had the dealer show me the invoice... 3200+ $$$

Powertrain warranty covered it all... cannot be more pleased with the service I had at the dealer. Surprisingly enough, I had not bought the truck at that dealership, so I thought it could be a problem, but not at all.

JUST BOUGHT THIS TRUCK WITH JUST 2,500 MILES ON IT. NOW I KNOW WHY. WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF BUYING IT, IT WAS IN SHOP FOR 4 DAYS GETTING LIFTERS REPLACED BECAUSE I HEARD ENGINE TAPPING. GM DEALER SAYS THERE IS A BULLENTIN OUT ABOUT THIS ISSUE. SO I GOT TRUCK BACK AND ITS STILL MAKING TAPPING NOISE.DEALER SAYS ITS "NORMAL". YEAH RIGHT. SO I TOOK IT TO THREE OTHER CHEVY DEALERS AND GUESS WHAT,THEY ARE ALL SAYING ITS NORMAL. I HAVE BEEN AROUND ALOT OF VEHICLES IN MY LIFE TO KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I THINK THAT ANYONE WHO WORKS FOR GM KNOWS HOW BIG OF AN ISSUE THIS IS WITH THE 5.3 ENGINES THAT THEY ARE ALL HUSH HUSH ABOUT IT. SO NOW AM STUCK WITH A 40000 DOLLAR PIECE OF CRAP. CHEVYS IS ALL THAT I HAVE BOUGHT IN MY LIFE.THIS WILL BE MY LAST.

bopper425, Have you already been in contact with Customer Assistance about these issues? If we can check into anything further, please don't hesitate to email us at socialmedia@gm.com (include your name and contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation). Sarah, GM Customer Service

Send me an email to coveyjs@gmail.com; there are a couple of things that happened to mine. First off, check for something lose in the bumper. This may sound odd, but with all the weight of the cladding if there's something lose it's going to make a squeaking noise that will seem to change with the pitch of the engine due to vibration. Easy way to test is to park it, open the hood, stand on a chair, lean on the front upper cross member and push it hard repeatedly. If you hear the squeak, then it's in the bumper assembly.

The second issue is a lot worse. I was told that Chevy had a major problem with soft cams. The noises started @ 150-160,000 and by 200,000 it was throwing error codes for misfires. The solution there was to replace the engine with one that had @ 80,000 on it. Expensive, but much cheaper than a new Avalanche.

My dad bought a 2003 Avalanche that had 111,749. It has been in the shop for the cluster and other things. The vehicle has about 115000km and has no oil pressure. The dealership indicates that it is a rod bearing and the engine needs to be replaced. I understand that the oil was changed at the dealership when it was bought (july 2012). The oil was also changed by the dealership in december to a semi synthetic. So what gives.

i have a 2011 avalanche with 21,000 miles on and engine is making ticking sounds from passenger side front wheel well area. First trip to dealer month ago said had to make an appointment for couple weeks out , they believed it was a valve spring at that time. followed up with appt. dealer had for three days, follow up calls to dealer think could now be lifter problem may require tear down to find problem. 2days later i got a call to come pick up the truck, im thinking its fixed, find out they did absolutely nothing but run tests that gm required them to do. Guess what cant find anything wrong?, but engine still making noise some times louder than others. They dont denie engine is making noise but nothing shows up on tests.So i guess NOISE is not a proper test?. They asked me to take truckback and drive it, and see if noise gets any worse. The service manager said there were no recalls or bulletins on this problem, but some of the writeups here indicate there is a bulletin on this very issue. Does anyone out there know what the bulletin number is?